Glossary
| simile |
a comparison using "as" or "like" |
| alliteration |
the deliberate repetition of consonant sounds |
| assonance |
deliberate repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds |
| apostrophe |
an address to a person absent or dead or to an abstract entity |
| diction |
poet's distinctive choices in vocabulary |
| echo |
repetition of key word or idea for effect |
| hyperbole |
exaggeration for dramatic effect |
| metaphor |
a comparison not using as or like when one thing is said to be another |
| onomatopoeia |
"sound echoing sense"; use of words resembling the sounds they mean |
| oxymoron |
a seeming contradiction in two words put together |
| paradox |
seeming contradiction that surprises by its pithiness |
| personification |
attribution of human motives or behaviours to impersonal agencies |
| rhyming couplet |
a pair of lines which end-rhyme expressing one clear thought |
| rhyme |
repetition of same sounds |
| rhythm |
internal 'feel' of beat and metre perceived when poetry is read aloud |
| tone, mood |
feelings or meanings conveyed in the poem |